The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Monarda plant botanically known as Monarda didyma and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Balbalmurp’.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Guadalupe, Calif. during May 2008. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Monarda cultivars that are early flowering, have good powdery mildew resistance, and a compact growth habit.
The new Monarda cultivar is the result of cross-pollination. The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar is ‘Pink Lace’, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 18,367, characterized by its red-purple colored inflorescences, dark green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, compact-upright growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar is Grande Parade ‘Acrade’, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,580, characterized by its purple-violet colored inflorescences, dark green-colored foliage, and vigorous, mounded growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination during September 2009 in a controlled environment in Guadalupe, Calif.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since September 2009 in Guadalupe, Calif. and Elbum, Ill. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.